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Piedmont Together Comprehensive Regional Plan

Places and Spaces

Overview

Vision

As our region grows, wise choices now help ensure future development maintains and enhances our quality of life, strengthens our economic well-being and conserves our natural and built environments. Careful stewardship of our land, air, water, cultural and energy resources enables us to be more resilient. Strategic investments in interconnected networks of natural, agricultural and recreational hubs and corridors provide the green infrastructure necessary for healthy ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and valuable recreation, tourism and agricultural opportunities. Focused investments to expand transportation, housing and energy production choices improve the connectivity and efficiency of our communities and provide a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits to communities across our region.

Regional Advantage

Working together to foster the efficient and sustainable use of land, resources and energy, we can grow and diversify our economy while maintaining our health and high quality of life. By focusing most new development in existing urban service areas, we enhance downtown vitality, conserve our rural and natural areas, promote greater connectivity, and provide more employment, housing and transportation choices.

Provide pedestrian connectivity planning and support.

Connect sidewalks, trails and bike paths to provide a more complete network of transportation choices — especially among major residential areas, employment and commercial areas, and community landmarks and gathering areas.

Identify the production capacity of existing or potential agricultural products (e.g. grape production for wine, purple sweet potatoes, hops for beer).

Work with current processors to expand capacity or create a new processing facility as necessary to provide a local bulk market for agricultural products (e.g. a former grist mill or grain elevator, grape processing or winery; Biofuels processing; Inland fish processing.)

Create community bike-share programs that provide a healthy transit option, reduce automotive traffic and add a sense of vibrancy to communities.

Pursue greater public transit options for dependent and non-dependent riders (especially in and among urban centers).

Enhance public transit by increasing access, connectivity, reliability and timeliness for dependent riders and to encourage non-dependent riders to elect to use public transit systems.

Explore electric or bus trolley systems for downtown mobility in urban centers to provide an attractive transit option and enhance economic development opportunities in downtown areas.

Increase social connectivity, including engaging diverse communities, newcomers and young and elderly adults.

Encourage communities to provide inclusive community outreach and engagement efforts in all neighborhoods that build relationships, help to identify and affirm a diversity of interests, and encourage everyone to contribute to the good of the community.

Establish community-wide events that engage and celebrate the diversity of the entire community.

Increase the resilience of the region's existing green infrastructure and decrease the Piedmont Triad's vulnerability to climate change.

Protect the Piedmont Triad's water supply and quality.

Protect water quality for drinking water, recreation, and ecological habitat purposes through watershed management, low impact development, and using best management practices for all land uses.

Manage Stormwater: Collaborate with the regional council and municipal/county stormwater management and planning departments on integrated watershed plans that factor in climate change and use innovative measures to manage stormwater.

Manage sediment: Collaborate with the regional council, municipal planning departments, and county agricultural organizations (Soil & Water Conservation Districts) on practices and policies that minimize erosion and stabilize streambanks to reduce sediment loss.

Ensure the persistence of the Triad's agricultural heritage.

Work with NRCS, NCSU Cooperative Extension, and other partners to develop outreach strategies that ensure all federal and state programs that promote sustainable agricultural practices are available to the region's farmers.

Work with public, non-profit, and private sector partners to make farming a viable lifestyle and career for younger generations.

Assess which crops are most vulnerable to climate change impacts (hotter, drier summers; wetter, warmer winters) and develop a mitigation or adaptation strategy to either ensure the success of existing crops or promote the transition to new staple crops. (CAE related)

Work with public, non-profit, and private sector partners to promote "Farm-to-Fork" food systems that both support the local agricultural sector and promote healthier communities.

Identify weaknesses in the existing regional food distribution system and address them with the institution of new farmers markets, commissaries, and/or food centers.

Identify communities that do not have access to healthy, affordable foods, and develop a program to deliver locally-grown foods to them.

Identify natural features that provide multiple public benefits such as hunting or swimming, better assess their economic value to the region, and develop a regional marketing strategy to promote them throughout the state and the Southeast.

Revisit and update approved urban plantings lists to favor or encourage native North Carolina Piedmont species which are heat and drought tolerant. (CAE Related)

Identify those species most vulnerable to the Triad's anticipated impacts from climate change (hotter, drier summers; wetter, warmer winters) and develop a transition or mitigation strategy for their survival.(CAE Related)

Identify species most effective at providing ecosystems services, but especially stormwater management and urban heat island mitigation and prioritize their use throughout all communities. (CAE Related)

In both the urban and rural environments, track invasive species and the migration of species northward and up slope as climate changes. (CAE Related)

Track public health trends such as rates of asthma and heat-related hospital visits based on heat waves and other weather events.

Increase efforts related to maintaining the well-being of persons whose work requires them to be exposed to the elements educating employers as well as employees with particular focus on agriculture and landscaping businesses. (CAE Related)

Develop an outreach strategy with EMS programs and the health care system to ensure that the region's most vulnerable populations are aware of the risks of hotter, drier conditions, flash flooding, and other climate change impacts, and that they are aware of what relief resources they may rely upon for safety and shelter.

Monitor changes in rates of infections of vector borne diseases according to weather events such as summertime flooding. (CAE Related)

Enhance all urban tree canopies to at least 40% coverage to mitigate the urban heat island effect. This coverage must be universal to all communities and ensure equity of distribution. (CAE Related)

Develop a relocation transition strategy for those living in floodplains so that they can live in safer conditions. (CAE Related)

Create the built environment with ecological services in mind in order to take advantage of mitigation of natural weather extremes through green infrastructure.

Engaged and responsible businesses and government sectors.

Work with businesses and governments to analyze their vulnerability to climate change and take action.

Take particular note of the tourism and outdoor recreation markets which are very strong in the Piedmont Triad and very susceptible to extreme weather events.

Development mechanisms to appropriately value working and wild lands reflecting the economic and ecological services these lands provide.

Work with energy providers on innovative ways which do not rely on chemical spraying or the destruction of tree canopy to decrease the vulnerability to weather related hazards of energy delivery systems.

Accomplishments

Regional Scenario Model — Modeling software was used to show where new homes and jobs might go based on existing trends and 3 alternative growth scenarios. The best outcomes of each scenario were combined to form a recommended "Preferred Growth Scenario" supporting greater efficiency, connectivity and conservation.